


Days Gone Bye

by SebastianGrace



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Anxiety, Hot Chocolate, Panic Attacks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-22
Updated: 2017-02-22
Packaged: 2018-09-26 06:18:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9871187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SebastianGrace/pseuds/SebastianGrace
Summary: The first time the human falls, everything goes great. Frisk is kind, makes friends, and sets everyone free. The second time the human falls, Sans gets a little suspicious. The fourth time the human falls, Sans has everything figured out. The seventeenth time the human falls, he can't take it anymore. There has to be a way to stop the resets. Some way. Any way.





	

"H u m a n." A deep voice echoed through the trees, sending a shiver down the human's spine. "Don't you know how to greet a new pal? Turn around and shake my hand."  


Shaking, the human turned, coming face to face with a creature straight from their nightmares. The human's eyes widened, and their heart caught in their throat. A moment passed, then another. The grinning skeleton, hand still extended, quirked up an eyebrow, so the human woodenly placed their hand in his. There was a beat of apprehension when the world went silent before the sound of a whoopee cushion tore through the trees. The human cried out in shock and instinctively stepped back, slipping on the snow. The monster's firm grip was the only thing that stopped them from falling.  


Chuckling, the skeleton said, "ah, the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick. classic." He ensured the human was steady before releasing their hand and eyeing them curiously. "you're a human, right?" he asked, tucking his hands into his pockets. "that's hilarious." Before the human could ask why, he continued, "i'm sans. sans the skeleton."  


Clearing their throat, the human rasped, "Frisk."  


"frisk, huh? well, pleased to meet ya, kid," Sans said, winking. He blew out a puff of air and squinted up at the trees thoughtfully. After a moment, he said, "i'm actually supposed to be on guard for humans right now. but... y'know..." His gaze returned to their face. "i don't really care about capturing anybody."  


The human's face scrunched up in confusion. Capturing? They took a breath to speak.  


"now, my brother, papyrus," Sans interjected smoothly. "he's a human-hunting fanatic. hey, actually, i think that's him over there. i have an idea. go through this gate thingy."  


The skeleton spoke silkily, but it did little to assuage the human's growing confusion. Frisk just met this guy, and he wants them to just trust him? Sans paused long enough to take a breath, giving Frisk time to protest. "Wait!" they cried in vain, panicked.  


"don't worry, you can just go right through. my bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone."  


Sans' hand went to Frisk's arm to usher them across the bridge. His expression went from a grin to surprise as Frisk slapped his hand away and glared at him, trembling. That was it. Frisk had reached their breaking point.  


Feeling their face heat up, they asked, "Don't you ever stop talking?"  


Sans raised his eyebrows. "wow," he said. "rude."  


"No!" the human exclaimed, pointing their finger in Sans' face. "You know what's rude? I've been here for all of an hour, I'm scared out of my mind, everyone I've come across so far has tried to _kill_ me, and now here _you_ come, talking a whole bunch of nonsense and not explaining a damn thing while I can't get a word in edgewise!" Frisk started to turn away, but they looked back over their shoulder at the skeleton, their anger dying down. "Now _that's_ rude."  


After a moment of stunned silence, Sans laughed. That surprised him; he hadn't honestly laughed in a long time. A genuine smile on his face, Sans ruffled the human's hair.  


"you know, i like you, kid," said Sans warmly. "i think we're going to get along just fine."

 

"NYEH HEH HEH!"  


Frisk stood, watching a second, very tall skeleton on the other side of a narrow gap explain the puzzle before them. This was just another test in the long line of puzzles that the human had been solving for hours. Anxiety bubbled up into their throat, but they pushed it back down with a smile, a pit settling in their stomach. As the tall skeleton rambled on about colored squares, Frisk's gaze wandered over to Sans, who stood a short distance from his brother. He stood silently with his hands in his pockets and his ever-present lazy grin, watching his brother's animated and dramatic gestures in wry amusement. His gaze flicked over to Frisk's, his eyes narrowing just a bit. The human's sense of foreboding grew.  


"HOW WAS THAT? UNDERSTAND?"  


Frisk's eyes snapped back to Papyrus, wide. Their mouth opened a bit, and they took in some air before speaking.  


"Of course," they said shakily, obviously lying through their teeth. From the other side of the puzzle, Sans snorted.  


"GREAT!" shouted Papyrus gleefully. "THEN THERE'S JUST ONE LAST THING... THIS PUZZLE... IS ENTIRELY RANDOM!"  


As Papyrus launched into another lengthy monologue, Frisk sighed inwardly. Shifting their weight from one foot to the other, they considered sitting down. They were exhausted from all the puzzles and fighting, and the rising panic was getting harder to suppress. Before they could choose, their decision was made for them.  


"NYEH HEH HEH! GET READY!" Papyrus cried, and he threw the puzzle switch. _Here we go,_ Frisk thought.  


But as they watched the colored tiles flash at their feet, Frisk's chest suddenly felt very tight. The world began to spin, their breath becoming ragged gasps. They couldn't seem to close their eyes as they filled with tears, panic closing in. Slowly, they lowered themselves to a seated position, focusing at their feet dangling into the the abyss below. Papyrus let out a cry of disbelief as the puzzle finished calibrating. Frisk heard him take a breath to speak, but he paused.  


"...HUMAN?" Papyrus called, his voice tinged with concern. "SANS, IS THE HUMAN ALL RIGHT?"  


"wouldn't the human be easier to capture if it was sick?" Sans teased.  


"WELL, IT... WOULDN'T... BE VERY FAIR IF THE HUMAN HAD TO GO AGAINST I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, IN A WEAKENED CONDITION!"  


Sans grinned a little wider. "all right. let's go check on them. good thing the puzzle ended up this way, huh, bro?"  


The tall skeleton muttered under his breath about his luck as the brothers made their way to the human. Crouching, Sans tentatively placed a hand on their back.  


"hey, uh, you all right there, buddy?"  


Frisk focused on their breathing.  


After several moments of silence, Papyrus spoke up.  


"I KNOW THAT I AM A RATHER INTIMIDATING FOE," he said confidently, "BUT YOU HAVE BEEN DOING VERY WELL, HUMAN! YOU DO NOT NEED TO FEEL NERVOUS!" He grinned supportively down at the small figure next to him, but his face fell when no reaction came. "HMM," he muttered, clambering down to sit next to the other two.  


Then the tears fell. Frisk couldn't stop them, so they just sat, chest heaving, and watched the drops fall on their hands.  


"ah, jeez," Sans said. "don't cry, kid. nothing's gonna happen to ya."  


After a moment, Frisk opened their mouth to call out his lie, but the only sound that emerged was a sob. They paused to take a steadying breath and tried again, but another cry came. And another. And another. A feeling of hopelessness and isolation washed over them until they were drowning in it, and they sobbed uncontrollably, burying their face in their hands.  


The two brothers looked at each other awkwardly, at a loss. Gingerly, Sans reached out and drew Frisk to his chest in an attempt at physical comfort. The human clutched at his jacket and cried into his t-shirt. There the three of them sat, the only sound the slowly dwindling cries of a lost human. Finally, the tears dried, and all that remained were small hiccups as Frisk tried to catch their breath. Sans sighed. He had no choice. They just looked so small and vulnerable and helpless, curled up against him like that. Even as he chuckled softly, he cursed himself for his weakness.  


"all right," he said, breaking the silence. "let's go home."


End file.
